15 May 2012

With a change of season upon us, we head to Ponsonby Road Bistro to sample their latest dish.

We suspect we are not alone in confessing that when it comes to visiting eateries on our regular circuit, we are guilty of falling into a pattern of predictable ordering. And while such dishes such as Ponsonby Road Bistro’s eye fillet and hand cut fries, or Cibo’s sashimi platter will unfailingly keep us coming back for more, we have discovered such habitual ordering can leave us missing out on the seasonal standouts. Over the next few weeks, we will be paying a visit to some of our tried and true locals to shake up our ordering and find out what delicious offerings they have just introduced to their respective menus for the cold months ahead. To kick it off, we visited Ponsonby Road Bistro. Routinely guilty of not even looking at the menu when we sit down to dine here, we left our stomachs in the hands of the chef and sampled the latest seasonal dish on their menu – sautéed veal on baked polenta with spinach, porcini and masala cream.

Resting on a bed of perfectly cooked, light-as-souffle polenta (made from chicken stock, cream, rosemary, parsley and parmesan), the veal, which has been marinated overnight, is succulent and tender. Accompanied by a porcini and button mushroom sauce, alongside ample amounts of spinach, it’s a welcome addition to staple items on their menu (we certainly have swapped the eye fillet in favour of this wintry dish whilst it lasts). Introduced only last week, it’s already proven to be a popular favourite with Ponsonby Road Bistro’s many locals and we couldn’t recommend it more. Wash it down with a glass of red, and try and secure yourself the window seat by the fire, for a cosy winter’s night out.